JAMES WHO'S WHO? - F to K

FACTORY RECORDS

Legendary Manchester record label which was born out of the punk scene and had bands on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order and Happy Mondays and it owned Manchester's Hacienda nightclub where James played many early shows.  James released their first two singles on Factory in 1983 and 1985 although not officially signed to Factory.  The label went bankrupt in 1994 after a failed artist policy and the back catalogue bought out by London Records.

THE FALL

Seminal Manchester band dating back to the seventies, The Fall were champions of James in the early days providing many support slots including the band's first major show, a support slot at Manchester Poly in 1980. Jim and Paul were both massive fans, travelling the country to go and see them.

BEN FENNER

Sound engineer for the Laid and Wah Wah sessions, Ben was responsible for running the studio and ensuring all jams in the second studio were recorded and catalogued for the band to go back to for compiling the Wah Wah album.

FONTANA RECORDS

A famous 1960s label resurrected by Phonogram records in 1989 to house its "hip" bands.  James were signed to head up this label.

NICK GARSIDE

Nick produced and engineered the James II EP and the Gold Mother album.

PAUL GILBERTSON - GUITAR 1980-1984

JIM GLENNIE - BASS GUITAR 1980-2001, 2007-

DANNY GOLDBERG

Goldberg was appointed MD of Mercury in the US just before the release of the Booth and the Bad Angel and withdrew much of the financial backing for the album's promotion.  He is also credited by insiders as being the man responsible for the failure of Whiplash in America as he was not a fan of James music.

CHLOE GOODCHILD

Chloe was Tim's singing teacher and also provided backing vocals on the Booth and the Bad Angel album.

JANE GOTT

Larry's wife.  She was responsible for the sleeves to the Sometimes, Laid and Say Something singles and the inside covers of the Laid album.

LARRY GOTT - GUITAR 1984-1996, 2007-

ROB GRETTON

Gretton was New Order's manager and a major player in Factory Records when James were recording for them.  As a massive James fan, he arranged support slots with New Order in the early days and tried desperately to keep James at Factory when they announced they were planning to leave.

STEPHEN HAGUE

Hague was enlisted as the producer for the Whiplash album to give it a more commercial edge in late 1996, he had previously worked with both Blur and the Pet Shop Boys.  He reportedly asked Tim to change his lyrics to one of the songs, something noone had dared do previously.

HAPPY MONDAYS

Factory band from Manchester that went on tour with James in the autumn of 1988 and were a major player in the Madchester scene before splitting up in 1993, only to reform rather unspectacularly in 1999.  The Mondays are credited with introducing James to the possibilites of a more dance-influenced sound with their signature tune Wrote For Luck.

CHESNEY HAWKES

One-hit wonder with his song "The One And Only" which kept James off the number 1 spot for four weeks when Sit Down sat at number 2.  Chesney was apparently a James fan and apologised profusely when he met the band at Top of the Pops.

MARK HUNTER - KEYBOARDS 1990-2001, 2007-

JENNIE INGRAM

Ex-girlfriend of Gavan who joined the band initially on backing vocals, but did lead vocals at some shows before Tim was introduced.  Despite her sacking, she joined Lifewave with and married Jim in 1984 and had two children, Gemma and Jake.

INSPIRAL CARPETS

Organ-driven band from Manchester who supported James in March 1989 and were to enjoy success later with This Is How It Feels and four Top 10 albums on Mute Records.  They provided the chant-like backing vocals on Gold Mother.  Organist Clint Boon now has his own band The Clint Boon Experience.

MIKE JOBSON

James long-suffering tour manager, responsible for his sins for ensuring the band are in the right place at the right time (ie not still in bed) whilst on tour and ensuring the whole night runs smoothly.

HUGH JONES

Jones was the original producer for the Strip-Mine sessions in 1987 and it was felt that his mix did not do the songs justice so a remix was later carried out in 1988 before the album was released.

LENNY KAYE

Lenny Kaye was guitarist with the Patti Smith Band, one of Tim's major influences and was chosen to produce the debut album Stutter in 1986.  His and the band's inexperience in their studio roles conspired to leave the production being accused of robbing James of the vitality of their live sound.

PETER KIRBY

Kirby was supposed to be Venereal and the Diseases singer for their first ever show at Eccles British Legion in 1980 but failed to show up

JAMES KIRK

Guitarist with Orange Juice, favourites of Jim, Paul and Tim.  They gave James many support slots in the early eighties including some of their first shows outside Manchester.  It is rumoured that part of the reason James got the name they did was in deference to Kirk, who was idolised by Paul Gilbertson.

ALEX KLIMOWICZ

Klimowicz became the band's second lead singer after Kirby's no-show at the Eccles show.  He specialised in Bowie covers but did not last very long in the role.

MICHAEL KULAS - GUITAR/BACKING VOCALS 1997-2001